Armoured Trains
Despite seeming outdated, in a war dominated by tanks, trains performed well in Eastern Europe where roads were few and poor, and distances to be covered were immense. General Rules The main parts of any Armoured Train are the Locomotive, Artillery Cars, Infantry Cars (and the Infantry Units they carry), and Supporting Tank Attachments. The Locomotive and each Car or Wagon in an Armoured Train are separate Tank Teams, with the whole Armoured Train operating as a single Unit. An Armoured Train must always operate in the order shown in the Intelligence Briefing. It cannot uncouple cars or change their order, but it may travel in either direction and may enter the table facing either direction. Artillery Cars For the purposes of shooting the Artillery Cars of an Armoured Train are divided into Artillery Units, usually of one Artillery Car per Unit, although some have multiple cars in a Unit as noted in the Intelligence Briefings. Infantry Cars and Attachments Supporting Infantry Units are Attachments. An Armoured Train Supporting Infantry Unit is deployed or arrives from Reserve with the Armoured Train. An Armoured Train with an Infantry Car always Deploys with its Infantry Attachment as Passengers in the Infantry Car. Supporting Tank Attachments Supporting Tank Units are Attachments. An Armoured Train Supporting Tank Unit is deployed or arrives from Reserve with the Armoured Train. The tanks of Supporting Tank Attachments deploy evenly at each end of the train. Placing Railway Lines If the table has been set up with Railway Lines, use these for the Armoured Train. Otherwise, at the start of the game, before any Objectives or Fortifications are placed on the table, the players place a Railway Line as follows: 1. The player with the Armoured Train chooses two opposite table edges. The opposing player picks a point on one of the chosen table edges. 2. The Armoured Train player picks a point on the opposite table edge. 3. The Armoured Train player then places a Railway Line running in a straight line between these two points. The line cuts through woods, fields, and other flat ground. Rivers or streams are assumed to be crossed with culverts or bridges. Any buildings in the way should be moved aside by the minimum distance necessary. The Railway Line is diverted by the minimum distance necessary to go around hills (even gentle gradients are avoided by Railway Lines). If both players have Armoured Trains, both place Railway Lines, starting with the attacking player. Each player’s Armoured Train must remain on its own track. Armoured Train Deployment Armoured trains can only move along railway lines, so their deployment options are usually very limited. An Armoured Train always begins the game off the table, even if not held in Reserves and moves on to the table at the start of its first Movement Step. In the turn an Armoured Train moves onto the table, it always moves far enough to bring the entire train and its Supporting Tank Units onto the table. The Armoured Train will move on from the point where the Railway Line crosses the player’s Deployment Area, or if it does not do so, at the point the Railway Line crosses a table edge closest to the player’s Deployment Area. Armoured Trains cannot be held in Ambush), they are simply too big and obvious, but they may be held in Reserves. Armoured Train Movement Armoured Trains can only move on Railway Lines. If the Locomotive is not Bailed Out or Destroyed, an Armoured Train can move up to 16”/40cm forward or backward along the Railway Line each turn. An Armoured Train cannot Dash. Moving off the Table If any part of an Armoured Train leaves the table, the whole Armoured Train is considered to have left the table and cannot return. Moving through Wrecks Move any wreck on the Railway Line by the smallest distance necessary for the Armoured Train to pass. Moving through other Teams Armoured Trains may not move through friendly Teams. Any friendly Team on the tracks must move off the tracks before the train can pass. Armoured Trains are not hindered by enemy Teams. Any enemy Team is moved aside by the opposing player by the smallest distance necessary for the train to pass, retaining its current facing. Cannot move through Terrain Teams cannot move through an Armoured Train unless the Locomotive has been Destroyed. Once the Locomotive is Destroyed, it and other Destroyed cars in the train become Difficult Going. Armoured Trains cannot move through other Armoured Trains, even when the other Armoured Train is Destroyed. Always in Command An Armoured Train is a long line of Tank Teams lined up end to end, which would normally mean the end cars would be Out of Command. However, the Locomotive and Car Tank Teams of an Armoured Train are always In Command. Shooting with Armoured Trains Armoured Trains do not suffer any penalty for shooting on the move. They retain their Halted ROF when shooting while moving. Each weapon on an Armoured Train can fire at a different target from the other weapons. Almost all guns (aside from machine-guns) on an Armoured Train are mounted in Deck Turrets. As such, their Field of Fire is restricted by the superstructure and other turrets of the Artillery Car they are mounted on, and possibly by other cars in the train. Train Machine Guns The cars of an Armoured Train fire all of their Train MG’s at ROF 2, even when other weapons are firing, including when other weapons are firing an Artillery Bombardment. The Field of Fire of a Train MG mounted on the side of a car includes everything to the side of a line drawn along the side of the car. The Field of Fire of a Train MG mounted on the end of a car includes everything to the front of a line drawn across the end of the car. Passenger-fired Machine guns Each Passenger-fired Train MG requires an Infantry or Heavy Weapon (Man-packed Gun) Team Mounted in an Infantry Car to fire it. The team does not need to be in the same Infantry Car as the Train MG, and each team can fire any Train MG in the train (although only one Train MG per Team at any one time). Artillery Bombardment from Trains Armoured Trains can fire Artillery Bombardments while moving. When an Armoured Train fires an Artillery Bombardment, count each weapon firing as two weapons firing. All of the Artillery Batteries in an Armoured Train can combine to fire a single bombardment instead of firing as separate Units. Shooting at Armoured Trains Armoured Trains are shot at in the same way as any Unit of Tank Teams. If a car is Destroyed, it ceases to function along with all of its weapons but does not otherwise hinder the train. The Armoured Train moves with the Destroyed car still in place. If the Locomotive is Bailed Out or Destroyed, the Armoured Train cannot move. If the Locomotive can still move when the Armoured Train fails a Unit Last Stand Test, the whole Armoured Train is removed from the table as it steams off, dragging its wrecked cars with it. If it cannot move, the whole Armoured Train is Destroyed in place if it fails a Unit Last Stand Test. Shooting across Trains In the same way that teams cannot shoot through any other type of Friendly Team, Friendly Teams cannot shoot through an Armoured Train. Enemy Teams can shoot through an Armoured Train, but teams at least half obscured by the Armoured Train (including Destroyed cars) are Concealed. Armoured Trains in Assaults Armoured Trains cannot Charge into Contact and do not move when Counterattacking. If any part of an Armoured Train is assaulted, any part of the train within 16”/40cm of an Assaulting Team can Defensive Fire at Teams up to 16”/40cm away. If the Locomotive can still move when an Armoured Train Breaks Off from an assault, the train may move through or past any enemy Teams without hindrance and the train does not need to be more than 4”/10cm from enemy Teams for the assault to end. If the Locomotive cannot move when the train Breaks Off, any part of the train within 4”/10cm of the Assaulting Unit is captured and Destroyed. Any Infantry Unit or Supporting Tank Unit is a separate Unit from the Armoured Train. If the Infantry Unit is still mounted in the Infantry Car when the Infantry Car is Destroyed in an assault, the whole Infantry Unit will be Destroyed. Infantry and Supporting Tank Units can Dismount to Counterattack if they are assaulted. Category:Vehicles Category:Tanks Category:Tank Teams Category:Armoured Tanks Category:German Category:Soviet